Becoming Paul
The Blinding of Saul
"All this time Saul was breathing down the necks of the Master’s disciples, out for the kill. He went to the Chief Priest and got arrest warrants to take to the meeting places in Damascus so that if he found anyone there belonging to the Way, whether men or women, he could arrest them and bring them to Jerusalem.
He set off. When he got to the outskirts of Damascus, he was suddenly dazed by a blinding flash of light. As he fell to the ground, he heard a voice: “Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me?”
He said, “Who are you, Master?”
“I am Jesus, the One you’re hunting down. I want you to get up and enter the city. In the city you’ll be told what to do next.”
His companions stood there dumbstruck—they could hear the sound, but couldn’t see anyone—while Saul, picking himself up off the ground, found himself stone-blind. They had to take him by the hand and lead him into Damascus. He continued blind for three days. He ate nothing, drank nothing.
There was a disciple in Damascus by the name of Ananias. The Master spoke to him in a vision: “Ananias.”
“Yes, Master?” he answered.
“Get up and go over to Straight Avenue. Ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus. His name is Saul. He’s there praying. He has just had a dream in which he saw a man named Ananias enter the house and lay hands on him so he could see again.”
Ananias protested, “Master, you can’t be serious. Everybody’s talking about this man and the terrible things he’s been doing, his reign of terror against your people in Jerusalem! And now he’s shown up here with papers from the Chief Priest that give him license to do the same to us.”
But the Master said, “Don’t argue. Go! I have picked him as my personal representative to non-Jews and kings and Jews. And now I’m about to show him what he’s in for—the hard suffering that goes with this job.”
So Ananias went and found the house, placed his hands on blind Saul, and said, “Brother Saul, the Master sent me, the same Jesus you saw on your way here. He sent me so you could see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” No sooner were the words out of his mouth than something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes—he could see again! He got to his feet, was baptized, and sat down with them to a hearty meal." Acts 9:1-19 MSG
Nothing really more to explain with this long passage other than that the Apostle Paul, who was once the Pharisee named Saul, had to be struck blind until he could actually "see" and be filled of the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of God.
Background
In John 19, John narrated how Jesus made the man born blind see and how the Pharisees did not (or would not) believe that this miracle was of God. They claim it was of the devil, for both the blind man and his healer were sinners and beneath them "real" men of god.
At the end of this chapter John tells us this was Jesus told them:
"Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."
Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?"
Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains." John 19:39-41.
The Blind Needed to Know They Are Blind In Order to See
You see the "blind" Pharisee named Saul, had to throw out everything he thought he knew and everything he "learned" as a respected teacher of the law. He had to turn his back to all the perks and the privileges (fame, fortune included) of being a Pharisee.
And not only that he also had to learn the Way -- the new way, Jesus. The very same one he was persecuting, when he was hunting down, arrresting and killing all those who believe in Jesus.
Once Blind, Now Can See
In Acts 13, Luke the writer of Acts suddenly refers to (the once blind Pharisee) Saul to (the now Christian Missionary) Paul (who can see clearly now), while he and his new found friends aka missionaries, were sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ to both Jews and Gentiles (non Jews) in Cyprus.
Becoming Paul
Like Bono of U2 (video above), Paul would have also sang his heart out to the One who took him out of darkness, with the immortal opening lines of the song "Amazing Grace":
'Amazing Grace, How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found
I was blind but now I see"
Yes, I was blind but now I see.
The hardest ones to see would be the ones who claim they weren't blind and Saul (now Paul) was among the worst of that lot.
But Paul did see, so there is hope for the rest of us, ordinary blind folks.
And so we too can sing "was blind, but now I see..."
"All this time Saul was breathing down the necks of the Master’s disciples, out for the kill. He went to the Chief Priest and got arrest warrants to take to the meeting places in Damascus so that if he found anyone there belonging to the Way, whether men or women, he could arrest them and bring them to Jerusalem.
He set off. When he got to the outskirts of Damascus, he was suddenly dazed by a blinding flash of light. As he fell to the ground, he heard a voice: “Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me?”
He said, “Who are you, Master?”
“I am Jesus, the One you’re hunting down. I want you to get up and enter the city. In the city you’ll be told what to do next.”
His companions stood there dumbstruck—they could hear the sound, but couldn’t see anyone—while Saul, picking himself up off the ground, found himself stone-blind. They had to take him by the hand and lead him into Damascus. He continued blind for three days. He ate nothing, drank nothing.
There was a disciple in Damascus by the name of Ananias. The Master spoke to him in a vision: “Ananias.”
“Yes, Master?” he answered.
“Get up and go over to Straight Avenue. Ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus. His name is Saul. He’s there praying. He has just had a dream in which he saw a man named Ananias enter the house and lay hands on him so he could see again.”
Ananias protested, “Master, you can’t be serious. Everybody’s talking about this man and the terrible things he’s been doing, his reign of terror against your people in Jerusalem! And now he’s shown up here with papers from the Chief Priest that give him license to do the same to us.”
But the Master said, “Don’t argue. Go! I have picked him as my personal representative to non-Jews and kings and Jews. And now I’m about to show him what he’s in for—the hard suffering that goes with this job.”
So Ananias went and found the house, placed his hands on blind Saul, and said, “Brother Saul, the Master sent me, the same Jesus you saw on your way here. He sent me so you could see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” No sooner were the words out of his mouth than something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes—he could see again! He got to his feet, was baptized, and sat down with them to a hearty meal." Acts 9:1-19 MSG
Nothing really more to explain with this long passage other than that the Apostle Paul, who was once the Pharisee named Saul, had to be struck blind until he could actually "see" and be filled of the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of God.
Background
In John 19, John narrated how Jesus made the man born blind see and how the Pharisees did not (or would not) believe that this miracle was of God. They claim it was of the devil, for both the blind man and his healer were sinners and beneath them "real" men of god.
At the end of this chapter John tells us this was Jesus told them:
"Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."
Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?"
Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains." John 19:39-41.
The Blind Needed to Know They Are Blind In Order to See
You see the "blind" Pharisee named Saul, had to throw out everything he thought he knew and everything he "learned" as a respected teacher of the law. He had to turn his back to all the perks and the privileges (fame, fortune included) of being a Pharisee.
And not only that he also had to learn the Way -- the new way, Jesus. The very same one he was persecuting, when he was hunting down, arrresting and killing all those who believe in Jesus.
Once Blind, Now Can See
In Acts 13, Luke the writer of Acts suddenly refers to (the once blind Pharisee) Saul to (the now Christian Missionary) Paul (who can see clearly now), while he and his new found friends aka missionaries, were sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ to both Jews and Gentiles (non Jews) in Cyprus.
Becoming Paul
Like Bono of U2 (video above), Paul would have also sang his heart out to the One who took him out of darkness, with the immortal opening lines of the song "Amazing Grace":
'Amazing Grace, How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found
I was blind but now I see"
Yes, I was blind but now I see.
The hardest ones to see would be the ones who claim they weren't blind and Saul (now Paul) was among the worst of that lot.
But Paul did see, so there is hope for the rest of us, ordinary blind folks.
And so we too can sing "was blind, but now I see..."
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